July 23, 2010
The 2009-10 athletic year at Northwestern University was one to remember. Filled with memorable wins, honors and championships, there was much to be celebrated this past year in Evanston. Be sure to follow along at NUsports.com through August 6 as we take a look back at some of the very best highlights the Wildcats experienced last season.
Big Ten Match Play Championship Team Image Photo Gallery
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In early February, Northwestern's men's golf team traveled down to Heron Bay Golf Club in Coral Springs, Fla., and went a perfect 4-0 to capture the Big Ten Match Play Championship in epic and resounding fashion. That performance is the No. 11 entry on our countdown of top moments from the 2009-10 athletic season at Northwestern.
The performance ran NU's all-time record in the two-year-old event to 7-1, the best mark in the conference. Junior David Lipsky (La Canada, Calif./La Canada) was named the Big Ten Player of the Week after going undefeated to pick up All-Tournament Team honors along with fellow Wildcat Eric Chun (Ansung City, South Korea/International Christian School)
In the first round of the tournament Friday morning, Feb. 12, Northwestern recorded victories in the second-through-sixth positions against Wisconsin to defeat the Badgers, 5-1, and move on to face No. 3 seed Michigan with a berth in the semifinals on the line.
Chun led the way with a resounding 6-and-5 win at the No. 4 position, matching his best margin of victory in the event set twice last year when he was a perfect 4-0. Classmate Sam Chien (San Diego, Calif./Mt. Carmel) also picked up solid 3-and-2 win at the No. 5 spot.
Wisconsin won at the No. 1 position, 5-and-4, and the contest was not decided until the final three matches finished the 18th hole. Freshman Nick Losole (Scottsdale, Ariz./Scottsdale Notre Dame) won the 18th against Brady Keegan in the No. 6 spot to take a 2-up win for the Wildcats, while and senior Jonathan Bowers (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) held off their Badger foes for 1-up victories.
In the quarterfinals Friday afternoon, the Wildcats dispatched the Wolverines, 4-2. Junior Josh Dupont (Poway, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) defeated Matt Thompson at No. 1 3-and-2 following by a dominating win for Lipsky at No. 2, 5-and-4. Chien also had a big 5-and-4 victory at No. 5 before Chun wrapped up the win, 2-and-1, at the No. 4 position.
Saturday morning dawned excellently for Northwestern against No. 2 seed Iowa with a 3.5-2.5 victory. Lipsky was the hero for the Wildcats, coming back from three down with eight holes to play to win his match at the No. 3 position after Chun halved his match at the No. 4 spot. Dupont was a big winner at No. 1 with a 6-and-5 victory while Losole also had a big 4-and-3 win at the No. 6 spot.
In the title match against Purdue, Northwestern recorded the first-ever clean sweep in the Championship's history with a 6-0 blanking of the Boilermakers.
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